Thomas Louis Magliozzi (June 28, 1937 β November 3, 2014) and his brother Raymond Francis Magliozzi (born March 30, 1949) were the co-hosts of
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's weekly radio show ''
Car Talk
''Car Talk'' is a radio talk show that was broadcast weekly on National Public Radio (NPR) stations and elsewhere. Its subjects were automobiles and automotive repair, often discussed humorously. It was hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Maglioz ...
'', where they were known as "Click and Clack, the
Tappet
A tappet is most commonly a component in an internal combustion engine which converts the rotating motion of the camshaft into linear motion of the valves, either directly or indirectly.
An earlier use of the term was for part of the valve gear ...
Brothers". Their show was honored with a
Peabody Award in 1992.
Tom died on November 3, 2014, aged 77, in
Belmont, Massachusetts, of complications from
Alzheimer's disease.
Early life and education
Tom Magliozzi was born in
East Cambridge, Massachusetts
East Cambridge is a neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Referred to in modern times as Area 1, East Cambridge is bounded by the Charles River and the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston on the east, the Somerville border on the north, Bro ...
. His education was entirely in Cambridge: Gannett School, Wellington School,
Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, also known as CRLS or "Rindge," is a public high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is a part of the Cambridge Public School District. In 1977, two separate schools, the Rindge Technical ...
, and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, where he graduated.
While at MIT, he participated in
Air Force ROTC, and subsequently spent six months in the
Army Reserve
A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...
.
Ray Magliozzi was born in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
twelve years after his brother Tom. Ray also graduated from MIT.
Career
![Good News Garage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Good_News_Garage.jpg)
Tom earned a degree from the
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan or Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, ...
. He worked for
Sylvania's Semiconductor Division in
Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of government, in which an elected mayor is ...
and then for the Foxboro Company
while earning his MBA from
Northeastern University[ Bates (1999), ''MIT Tech Talk''.] and teaching part-time at local universities. He grew tired of his job and quit, spending the next year doing odd jobs such as painting for other tenants in his apartment building.
Ray taught science
in
Bennington, Vermont
Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous t ...
, for a few years before returning to Cambridge in 1973. He and Tom then opened a do-it-yourself repair shop named Hacker's Haven. The shop rented space and equipment to people who were trying to fix their own cars, but it was not profitable. Nevertheless, the two enjoyed the experience and were invited in 1977 to be part of a panel of automotive experts on Boston's National Public Radio affiliate
WBUR-FM
WBUR-FM (90.9 FM) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. It is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, along with WGBH and WUMB-FM and produces several nationally distributed progra ...
. Subsequently, the brothers converted the shop into a standard auto-repair shop named the Good News Garage.
In addition to the local radio show, Tom worked a day or two each week at the Technology Consulting Group run by a former MIT classmate in Boston, and he still taught at local universities. Tom believed college professors did not make much money without working other jobs, and that drove him to spend nine years working while getting his doctorate in Marketing from
Boston University School of Management. After being a professor for eight years, he decided he disliked teaching and quit.
''Car Talk''
In January 1987,
Susan Stamberg of ''
Weekend Edition
''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program '' Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday ...
'' on NPR asked the two brothers to contribute weekly to her program. Nine months later, ''
Car Talk
''Car Talk'' is a radio talk show that was broadcast weekly on National Public Radio (NPR) stations and elsewhere. Its subjects were automobiles and automotive repair, often discussed humorously. It was hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Maglioz ...
'' premiered as an independent NPR program. In 1992, Tom and Ray won a
Peabody Award for ''Car Talk'' for "distinguished achievement and meritorious public service".
Tom and Ray continued to work in their repair garage while they produced ''Car Talk''. On June 8, 2012, it was announced that ''Car Talk'' would stop producing new episodes in September 2012, though NPR would continue airing reruns of the show.
Producer Doug Berman said that Tom and Ray "changed public broadcasting forever" because the brothers "showed that real people are far more interesting than canned radio announcers." "The guys are culturally right up there with Mark Twain and the Marx Brothers."
Other work
![Car Talk Plaza](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Car_Talk_Plaza.jpg)
In addition to the radio show, Tom wrote for CarTalk.com and ran his own consulting business. In 1999, the brothers returned to MIT to deliver a joint commencement speech to the graduates.
In 1989, the brothers started a newspaper column ''Click and Clack Talk Cars'' which, like the radio show, mixed serious advice with humor.
King Features
King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial ...
distributes the column. Ray continued to write the column, retitled ''Car Talk'', after his brother's death in 2014, knowing he would have wanted the advice and humor to continue.
Tom and Ray both appeared in the
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...
films ''
Cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...
'' (2006) and ''
Cars 3
''Cars 3'' is a 2017 American computer-animated sports comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to ''Cars 2'' (2011) and the third installment of the ''Cars'' film series, the ...
'' (2017). (Tom's role in the third film was accomplished through archival recordings, as it was produced after his death, while Ray reprised his role despite his retirement in 2012.) They played the owners of Rust-eze who discovered Lightning McQueen and gave him his first big break. Tom appeared as a 1963
Dodge Dart
Dodge Dart is a line of automobiles marketed by Dodge from the 1959 to 1976 model years in North America, with production extended to later years in various other markets.
The Dart name originally appeared on a 1956 Chrysler show car featuring ...
convertible, a reference to a car that he owned for many years and often mentioned on ''Car Talk''. Ray appeared as a 1964
Dodge A100
The A100 is a range of compact vans and trucks manufactured and marketed from 1964 to 1970 by Chrysler Corporation under the Dodge marque in the United States and the Fargo marque in Canada.
The A100 competed with the Ford Econoline and Che ...
van. In both films, they admonished: "Don't drive like my brother", the catchphrase from the close of their radio show.
The Magliozzi brothers also appeared in the sitcom ''
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appear ...
'' in an episode called "Driving Mr. Goodman" which aired on May 3, 2002. Sabrina calls them on a magical car radio for car advice. In the same year they appeared in the
PBS Kids show ''
Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning βBearβ. Another theory, more wi ...
'' episode called "Pick a Car, Any Car" which aired on November 25, 2002. Arthur calls them with a question about the family car, which would have been hauled away by the local mechanic without their help. The answer turns out to be a baby rattle lodged in the car's tailpipe. In 2008, the brothers starred in their own PBS animated series ''
Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns
''Click and Clack's As the Wrench Turns'' is an adult animated television series produced by Atomic Cartoons and airs on PBS. The series follows the adventures of the brothers Click and Clack from their auto repair shop, Car Talk Plaza. It stars ...
'', playing fictionalized versions of themselves.
They also hosted an episode of the PBS show ''
NOVA'' entitled "The Car of the Future".
Ray did radio and TV ads for
eBay Motors
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
in 2022.
Filmography
Tom roles
Ray roles
References
Citations
General references
*
*
External links
www.cartalk.com''Car Talk'' official site
Tom's ''Car Talk'' bioRay's ''Car Talk'' bioNPR bio*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magliozzi
American people of Italian descent
Radio personalities from Boston
American talk radio hosts
American male voice actors
Magliozzi, Tom
Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
Magliozzi, Tom
Magliozzi, Tom
NPR personalities
People from Cambridge, Massachusetts
Sibling duos
Magliozzi, Tom
Cambridge Rindge and Latin School alumni